you got that right rash....
ive not ever gotten a reasonable answer to my question....if the bible alone is all that is needed, and the holy spirit is guiding us in understanding the word of God...why so many divergent views on essential christian doctrine?
anyone?
bueller? bueller?
That crowd protests all Christian doctrine whether espoused by a Catholic or non-Catholic Christian. They prefer to attack Catholics because being anti-Catholic is the only thing all the Self Worshipers agree on and will participate in without arguing with one another. After being on the RF a while you notice that very few of the non-Catholic Christians ever participate in the anti-Catholic attacks and are themselves often attacked for daring to disagree with the flakes like the JW crowd or others.
As in the case of this thread, non-Catholic Christians are often told they're in error by people who deny the fundamentals Christian teaching. The reason for all those divergent views is that a significant percentage of the people who accept the doctrine of Scripture Alone will sooner or later follow Eve. In doing so, they will build their own religion that in reality boils down to the worship of their own, Most High and Holy Self. All the while, though, they'll still claim to be Christian.
The majority of those who are going astray by believing in Scripture Alone end up sticking to the same basic doctrines as the Catholic Church. While they may believe we're to live our lives as a Christian witness, the don't accept that we're required to live as a witness for Christ. Nor do they accept that the Church is a visible city on a hill which is an integral part of His plan to shepherd us along and through fellowship and worship dispense additional Graces to help us. There are more differences and more things that those who are non-Catholic Christians don't accept, but they at least understand that we are saved by Grace, through Faith which is itself a gift of Grace, in Jesus Christ who is our only Savior.
The group who protest everything deny the deity of Christ in one way or another but still claim to be Christian. They basically don't agree with anything in the Scripture that they can't twist to suit their own preconceptions. They're every bit as anti-Christ as those churches that claim to be Christian but teach that Scripture isn't inspired and Christ was just a wise man of some sort, but deny that He is God.
That's why you end up with the JW clique putting out their own Bible, the Mormon crowd adding their own additional "inspired" book, or the Adventists claiming that Ellen G White is as much a prophet as Daniel, and tens of thousands of groups each claiming they are the real Christians in spite of denying Christ.
You can't really expect an answer from such folks. They have slurs and slanders at the ready along with a pile of associated rote arguments. What doesn't fit into their prepared or memorized responses they ignore. They won't ever actually think through what anyone says to them. They'll ignore it or just focus on a portion of what others say as if the rest of what they say doesn't exist.
That is a good question, and surly deserves an answer. I have not one clue as to the necessity of so many religions, except to keep a bunch of dead beats off of the welfare rolls. I believe your idea is correct. All we need do is study the bible and follow it’s teachings, another thing I believe is necessary is to fellowship with like believers.